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??? Would You or Have You Paid A Premium Price For A Component Because Of It's Looks ???

Simple question...
 You have several choices for a new component your looking to buy...They all have wonderful sound and all the connections/features you need/want but 1 choice has a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi the others just don't have...Unfortunately that choice also carries a premium price that might cost you at least 15% & as much as 35% more than any of your other options..You have the extra $ so budget isn't the issue..
 Have you,or would you go ahead & spend the premium to get that extra bit of pizzazz,knowing it's performance really isn't any better than a less expensive option,or do you follow your brain & opt to save the extra $ & get the choice that performs equally well,just doesn't quite have that something something that makes for an OMG experience even when it's not doing it's job as a music maker?

freediver
oldnslo
7 posts
 

Of course! I just acquired a bunch of McIntosh stuff.  Rega P8 turntable.  Would I have bought it but for the looks?  well... I didn't buy the P6.

mksun
866 posts
 

I wouldn’t spend extra solely because of looks, but if you’re spending big $ on a component it better not be hard on the eyes. When I was shopping for a new Integrated, my final choice came down to Luxman and Accuphase. Both sounded great to my ears, although different. I was initially leaning very slightly in favor of the Accuphase but couldn’t pull the trigger on it because of how it looked. Went with the Luxman 509-Z and have never looked back.

akg_ca
2,479 posts
 

I would pay a PREMIUM PRICE  for clear premium audio performance capability ….and.I will pay a FAIR PRICE (a clear and unambigous distinction….) for its cosmetics factor. Intuitively, I may pay a premium price if both its upticked looks are in lockstep to its upticked audio performance thst are offered jointly.

I would never pay a Premium Price just for the cosmetics.choice factor alone. IMO, paying any premium price primarily just for the looks and somehow disregarding a material omission (anchor?) with a lacking non-premium audio performance unit, is tantamount to just putting lipstick on a pig.

jl35
4,457 posts
 

I'm willing to pay a little extra for great looks, as long as it's gear I like...would avoid "ugly" as I see my gear so much...

spoonman16510
24 posts
 

Absolutely. I have done that. If a piece of equipment isn't pleasing to the eye then I won't buy it, even if it has everything I want or need.

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